Roostville (Black Hawk: An Archer's Tale)
Roostville is the second chapter/ episode in Black Hawk: An Archer's Tale. It details the adoption of Ryan Jace-Padilla and his young grade school life growing up in Roostville. It was published on March 7, 2012 Chapter Two: Roostville Location: Roostville, Chicago Time: 11:00 Date: May 25, 2000 Ryan stared out the car window, watching the waves of green and wheat fly by. The sun shined down hard, beating against the car and making the leather hot as tar. A sign zipped by and, catching a glimpse, Ryan made out the words: Roostville, Chicago; Population: 240,000. Wow, he thought, plenty of people for such a small place. Sinking back into his seat, he moved his hand through his shaggy black hair and sighed. This new place, Roostville as it was called, was his new home. He looked ahead at the driver and passenger. They were a couple, a man and woman. They had introdcued themselves to Ryan at the orphanage, said their names were Kevin and Mila Padilla. And apparentley, he was now Ryan Padilla. Ryan had felt the pain at St. Julia's when he had been forced to give up his origonal name...Jace. The only thing he had left of his birth parents. They'd died in a car crash, so he'd been told...he still rememberd that dreadful night. Imagine, being only three year olds, and having to watch your parent's go up in flames inside of a metal death trap... Ryan inched away from the door at this though; he was still a little afraid of cars. Mila looked back, her sparkling blue eyes and hazel hair sending a virtual smile into his mind. Then she actually smiled and said, "Hey, Ryan. How you doing back there?" Ryan sighed and spoke,"I'm fine." Mila's smile dropped to a sad expression. She turned around and wrapped her finger's around her husband's. Ryan dropped his head. He was not a rude five year old, but it was hard to get used to the concept of having a new set of parents. The car suddenley stopped, a fresh spray of gravel ricocheting of the windows. Ryan sat up and looked out the window. They were in the driveway of a huge mansion, one the size of the millionare's he'd seen on television. He yanked open the car door and hopped out, his small feet hitting the ground. Only then did he realize how the big house was. It was white all over, with a large courtyard fountain resting in front of the main steps. A large granite door made up the entrance, and four black sports cars were parked in the driveway. "W-who else lives here?" Ryan said, his first full sentence since they had left St. Julia's orphanage in New York. "Just us," Kevin smiled, admiring the kids awed expression. "Mila and I, I mean." Ryan smirked. He'd never known anyone who lived in a house this big, at least not with only one other person. Ryan ran up to the steps, admiring the large, white marble pillars that held up the roof. The door knobs resembled a lion's head, with hoop knockers protruding from their closed jaws. Mila came up behind him, carrying his small suitcase and back pack full of comic books. "Why don't you open it, silly?" Ryan smiled, his first smile at this woman since he'd met her, and turned the knob, pushing open the door. The foyer was massive, painted all white and with a marble floor. A small glass table with a blue flower vase sat in the middle of the foyer. Two spiral staircases extended around the table, which held sweet smelling tulips and daisies. Ryan looked around, spinning on his foot this way and that. Kevin and Mila set their bags down. "Is it good enough, son?" Kevin asked. Ryan flinched at this. He'd never heard anyone call him son, or at least heard and understood them. For someone, espically a stranger, to call him son... He shrugged the feeling aside. The house was amazing! He nodded at Kevin's question and Kevin gestured for him to run freely, wrapping his arm around his wife. Ryan giggled and ran up the stairs. On the second floor there had to be at least 10 rooms. Each room was made of mahogany wood and had a golde plaque nailed into the door, titiling the room. Making his way to the Arcade Room, Ryan stopped as a golden silver and black plaque caught his eye. He moved over to it. This door was not mahogany, but instead made of red wood. The plauqe read: The Nest. Ryan inched his hand closer to the door knob.. "Ah, your room is over there." Kevin said, resting a hand on his shoulder. Ryan groaned, retracting his hand to his side. Kevin laughed and steered him up to a third floor (which Ryan found amazing, considering most places he'd been in didn't even have two floors). The third floor, which as actually and oversized attic, was Ryan's room. It was decked with everything a young kid, ages 5-17 could ever want. Poster's of famous singers Ryan had never heard of hung on the wall. A big chest labled, "Video Games and Toys" sat in one corner, while a giant Coca Cola soda machine sat in the other. An electrical popcorn and hotdog machine sat at the very back of the room, filling the attic with the scent of a movie theatre. A giant tv that seemed to be flat- unlike the orphange's, which had been big and bulky. Finally, a large bed rested in the middle of the room, with scarlet silk covers and black pillows. Ryan smiled. Maybe these people weren't so bad. Or maybe that was just his greedy little five-year old self talking. Ryan turned, and to even his surprise, hugged Kevin, raced into the room and plopped down on his new, comfortable water bed... ~ 8 YEARS LATER Location: Roostville, Chicago Time: 18: 35 Date: February 15, 2009 "K.O!" the commentator announaced as Ryan finished his 26th round of Mortal Kombat. He threw the PS3 controller across the room and it landed softly on the lay-z-boy. Ryan layed back on his bed, switching the channels nearvously. He had a weird feeling in his gut...he just felt like something important was going to happen today... The television switched off, as he pressed the button and flipped over on his stomach. Daylight beamed in through the window Kevin had installed three years ago...Kevin; he'd never gotten used to calling him "Dad", or Mila "Mom". They'd always been Kevin and Mila, even now that he was 14 and had been living as a Padilla for eight streight years. They'd never corrected him, so why not? He still thought of them as his parents, however. Ryan rolled over onto the carpeted floor and pushed aside his Algebra homework. He was the perfect student in school. Straight A's, never below a 90 on assignments or tests. He was also popular. He had plenty of friends, some well known- some that were comic book nerds hiding in the corner during class...He had plenty of girls. Smirking at this, he pulled out his smart phone. It was slim and night black, with a touch screen and a dozen apps. The wallpaper on the front was of him and his girlfriend Julie Powers. The sunlight made her green eyes sparkle and her black hair shimmer. He sighed and tossed the phone on the bed. Sure, he had the grades, the respect, the friends, the girls...but something was missing...he'd always thought it was fame...but now he realized he didn't want fame. He wanted a purpose, something to live for, to live by. If not...then he'd jsut be another one of "those popular kids". Foot steps echoed up the stairs to his room. They were heavy, sounding like boots- Kevin, probably. Instead, it was Mila. She was dressed in a black tank top- something she usually never wore- and a camo jacket, with matching pants. On her feet were a pair of huge, black army boots. Somehow this look made Ryan feel weird, like this woman wasn't his mother. "What," he said,"are you wearing?" "What, you don't like?" she said, mocking a french accent. "No," he laughed. "No, I do not." She frowned, then smiled. "Typical teens...so down and negative." Ryan rolled his eyes and stood, walking over to his mother. "Yes?" he said, wondering why she'd come up to his room. "What?" "You wanted something, right?" She looked at him firmly, as if saying, ''watch your tone. ''But she switched to her usualy happy-go-lucky expression. "Yes, um, your father and I want you to, uh, come with us. We'd like to show you something." "Show me something...?" Ryan asked, following his mother down the stair case. "Yes," she replied. "Just...just follow me." They walked down the hall, the lights dimly lit, and met Kevin at the entrance to a room. Kevin was also dressed from head to toe in camo attire. "What are we...." taking a closer look, Ryan noticed the door's futures. It was an old door, most of the color having faded. It looked brown, but Ryan knew all to well that it had once been a shining red. The plaque on the door was rusted and scratched, but he already knew what it said. "The Nest..." he muttered. The Nest; the room he'd never been aloud to enter, the room that had always been locked... "Yes," Kevin and Mila said together. "We've been...hiding something from you for a long-" "Hiding something from me?" Ryan said, taking on a fake, angry tone. "I thought we were supposed to trust eachother..." They laughed. "Yeah, nice try kid. But this is serious, Ryan. Today you will see the Nest; a room so extremely top secret you can't ever tell anyone about it." "Top secret," he laughed. "Yeah. Okay. What're you, FBI?" Kevin's face didn't change. Instead he frowned and unlocked the door with a small silver key. The door creaked open and a small fog swept out into the hall. Ryan looked in through the door. All he could see was a long, blue lit corridor leading into darkness. Kevin smiled his devilish, ''got you now ''smile and gestured into the room. "You go first, Mr. FBI." Ryan gulped down his fear, his palms and forehead leaking sweat like a water fountain. He stepped into the room and was instantly hit by a cool wave of air. Mile and Kevin followed close behind him, leading him down the hall. At the end of the corridor, there was a large black door with a symbol on it. The symbol was that of a red hawk with spread wings coming up in an arch. "What is this-" Ryan began, but Mila raised her hand. She waved it over the door, and it slid open. What Ryan saw next would be a highlight of his life for years to come. They entered a giant room, similar to the arcade room, but twice the size. The walls, floor, and cieling were made of stainless steel. White lights hung from the cieling, shining light over the room. A giant screen hung on the west wall, the size of two foot ball fields. A seperate room to the south was blocked off by a bullet proof, sound proof plexiglass wall. Inside the room were rows and rows of blue mats and training dummies, some with their heads blow off and bullets in their sand bag hearts. A large dinner table with food and books scattered across it rested to his right...but that wasn't the most amazing thing. What mystefied Ryan the most, was a large black rack stacked with bows and quivers of arrows. The bows ranged from small to large, each black, silver, gold, red, or green. The arrows were grouped by the hundreds, as if they never ran out. Ryan turned to his parents. "What the heck.." They'd always restricted his cursingabilites, but this was a special circumstance. "Welcome to the Nest, son," Mila said. "This room, built into this house by your- our ancestors, is home to a legacy." Kevin said. "What...?" Ryan was baffled. Kevin laughed. "The Padilla family descends from a line of prestigious master archers. Over the centurys, we have saved many civilizations and people from harm with our abilities as marksmen and marskwomen. Though you are not our biological son, you are like our own. We will bless you with the training in the art of the bow." Ryan smiled. This was crazy. Now his parents were actually...cool?! Ryan nodded, he would totaly accept. "You must know, however, that all ties to the real world will be cut off during training. Do you still accept?" Mila frowned, felling the pain she'd just brought on her son. Ryan frowned. Cut off ties to the real world? That would mean no internet, no Facebook, no friends...no Julie. But Ryan felt it, deep in his gut. He had to do this. This was his calling, his reason to live. He'd found his purpose to live for, a code to live by. Ryan inhaled a deep breath and released the last words he ever spoke as Ryan Padilla, ordinary school boy. "I accept," he said. And thus began his legacy. End of Chapter Two Category:Black Hawk: An Archer's Tale Category:March 2012 Category:Chapter